The last three years have been a rollercoaster for the Milton Menace.
The team officially debuted in the fall of 2019 after a summer of fun. Thanks to a social media presence that rivalled the famed Vegas Golden Knights at the time, there was a buzz about junior hockey in Milton. The team even joined us at the inaugural All Hands on Deck Food Drive at John’s No Frills!
Then the puck dropped that first year. A team that strived to be hard hitting, edgy, and (in the words of Brian Burke) truculent, turned out to be young, a little undersized, and quite outmatched by what the Ontario Junior Hockey League had to offer.
One of the few bright spots in that first season was the emergence of a young Jordan Stock, who was eventually named the franchise’s first captain. With a 6’4″, 200lbs frame, the Hamilton-native was built like a long lost Staal brother. After an underwhelming year with the Brantford 99ers, Stock was able to put up 55 points in 49 games for Milton, with 24 goals to his name.
Then came the pandemic.
The OJHL was put on hold for an entire season, but that time off gave the Milton Menace the one thing they desperately needed: time.
They were a caterpillar in that first year in a league filled with full-fledged butterflies. The pandemic allowed them to build a cocoon and emerge into their second season as a butterfly in their own right, arguably in a league with very few to match their might.
With the OJHL, it’s difficult to find sustained success year after year. The teams are made up of kids that range anywhere from 15-years-old to players in their early 20’s. The really good teenage players leave your team early and the really good older players go off to play for their post-secondary school. There was a transition from that first season to the second, and one steady remaining force was the captain.
In 53 games, Jordan Stock scored 28 goals and 32 assists for an OJHL career high of 60 points. Not an outrageous jump that some players see over several years of playing junior hockey, but it was enough to lead a team from the basement to the sky. The Milton Menace finished the year with a 36-11-1-6 record over 54 games. That was good enough for second in the West Division behind their rival Burlington Cougars, and fifth in the entire league.
The Menace would sweep the Cougars during their first ever playoff run in franchise history on their way to a Conference Finals appearance.
Now, we’re in the offseason. It’s time for the good teenage players to compete for spots in either the OHL or the states. Those good older players are saying goodbye to their teams as they head off to college and university. That, sadly, includes Stock.
He issued a heartfelt message to fans on the Milton Menace Instagram page. It ends with saying, “Thank you to the management of the Menace for the best three years of my life & forming the player/person I am today.”
From all of us in Milton: Thank you, Jordan.
O, Captain! My Captain!
